More detail on this person: John F. "Joe"
Guilmartin, PhD, passed away suddenly at
Riverside Hospital, Columbus, OH, on March 10,
2016, surrounded by his Family. The son of John
Francis Guilmartin, Sr., and Katherine Douglas
Guilmartin, he was born on September 18th, 1940.
He grew up in San Antonio, Texas, where he
attended Texas Military Institute, graduating in
1957.
The following year he was appointed to the US Air
Force Academy by then Senator Lyndon Johnson,
earning his undergraduate degree in Aerospace
Engineering and graduating in the Class of 1962,
"The Red Tag Bastards."
He graduated from US Air Force Undergraduate
Pilot Training in 1963 and from the Air Force
Helicopter School in 1964. The bulk of his
operational career, he served as a helicopter
pilot with the Air Rescue Service, including two
Southeast Asia tours based in Thailand. During the
first, in 1965-66, he logged some 130 combat
missions over Laos and North Vietnam as an
HH-3E "Jolly Green" helicopter pilot charged with
rescuing American aviators shot down in enemy
territory. During his second tour, in 1975, he
flew HH-53C "Super Jolly Greens" including
participation in Operation Frequent Wind, the
29-30 April Saigon Evacuation, flying from the
attack carrier USS Midway. His crew and wingmen
took out some 500 evacuees in twelve sorties and
fired the last American shots of the Vietnam War,
suppressing enemy anti-aircraft fire on their
final run-in. Between Southeast Asia tours, he
attended Princeton University under Air Force
sponsorship, earning his MA and PhD in History in
1968 and 1971 respectively, before serving on the
History Faculty of the US Air Force Academy
during 1970-74. The balance of his Air Force
career was in Air Rescue Service Flying and Staff
assignments, followed by a tour at Air University,
Maxwell AFB, Alabama, where he was Editor of the
Air University Review, the professional journal of
the US Air Force. He retired from active duty in
1983 as a Lt. Colonel and senior pilot. His
decorations include the Legion of Merit, two
Silver Stars and the Air Medal with five oak leaf
clusters. Following retirement, he served on the
faculties of the Naval War College, Newport, Rhode
Island, and Rice University, Houston, Texas, where
he also served as Director of The Space Shuttle
History Project working under a Rice University
contract with the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center.
He joined the Ohio State University History
Department in 1987 where he remained until his
death. While at Ohio State, he supervised 26
doctoral students through to completion of the
PhD. He published widely on military history,
medieval and early modern naval history, airpower
history and the history of the Vietnam War. During
these years, he held the Charles Lindberg Chair at
the Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.,
was a guest lecturer and Visiting Professor at
West Point, and took part in and presented papers
and lectures with the International Commission of
Military Historians in locations all over the
world for many years. Dr. Guilmartin recently
received the prestigious Goodpaster Prize, awarded
by the American Veteran's Institute and The
Bradley Foundation, as "Outstanding
Soldier-Scholar," amongst many other awards and
honors. Additionally, the Joe Guilmartin
Scholarship for World War II Study Abroad was
graciously funded in his name for OSU students by
admirers of his teachings. He is survived by his
beloved wife, Hannelore; by daughters, Lore
Guilmartin and Eugenia Guilmartin, Colonel US
Army; and by step-daughter, Karla Vick and
step-son Kurt Vick; and grandchildren, Haley and
Ranon Varney. At his request, there will be no
memorial service. Photos, memories and
condolences can be shared on the SCHOEDINGER
FUNERAL HOME website www.schoedinger.com
and those wishing to make charitable contributions
in his honor can contact: The Texas Military
Institute, 20955 W. Tejas Trail, San Antonio, TX
78257; The Jolly Green Scholarship Fund, Attn: Lee
T. Massey, 916 Aloma Faye Lane, Fort Walton
Beach, FL 32547; The Joe Guilmartin Scholarship
for World War II Study Abroad, OSU Department of
History, Attn: Study Abroad Scholarship FUND #
13906, 106 Dulles Hall, 230 Annie & John Glenn
Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210, or,
https://www.osu.edu/giving; Child Fund
International, PO Box 26507, Richmond, VA 23261,
or, www.ChildFund.org, 1-800-776-6767
Published in The Columbus Dispatch on Mar. 20,
2016
John F. Guilmartin | 1940-2016: Vietnam War hero
became Ohio State professor of military history
By Jim Woods, The Columbus Dispatch • Monday
March 21, 2016 9:29 AM
He was a rescue helicopter pilot who flew more
than 130 missions during the Vietnam War and
went on to become a nationally known authority on
military history, teaching at the Ohio State
University.
John F. "Joe" Guilmartin, 75, died on March 10 at
OhioHealth Riverside Hospital after a brief
illness.
Guilmartin recently received the Goodpaster Prize,
which is awarded by the American Veteran's
Institute and Bradley Foundation to an outstanding
soldier-scholar.
He held a PhD in history from Princeton University
and had been on Ohio State's history faculty since
1987.
During his tenure at OSU, he also was the Charles
Lindbergh Chair at the National Air and Space
Museum in Washington, D.C., and was a frequent
guest lecturer and visiting professor at West
Point.
A native of San Antonio, Texas, he earned an
appointment to the U.S. Air Force Academy and
graduated in 1962.
His first tour in Vietnam came in 1965-66 as a
"Jolly Green" helicopter pilot, charged with
rescuing American aviators shot down behind
enemy lines.
He was among the first wave of soldiers after
America increased its commitment to fight. "The
vast majority wanted to be there. The crème de la
crème volunteered to serve in South Vietnam. Some
of them died, but they knew what they were getting
into," Guilmartin told The Dispatch in a 2005
interview.
During another tour, Guilmartin witnessed the
war's bitter end as he helped evacuate 500 people
during the fall of Saigon in 1975. His military
honors included the Legion of Merit, two Silver
Stars and the Air Medal with five oak clusters.
He is survived by his wife, two daughters, a
step-daughter, step-son and two grandchildren. At
his request, there will be no memorial service.
This information was last updated 05/18/2016
Please send additions or corrections to: HQ@vhpa.org VHPA Headquarters
Return to the Helicopter Pilot DAT name list
Return to VHPA web site
Date posted on this site: 03/11/2023
Copyright © 1998 - 2023 Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association